Developing a game is time consuming enough, I'm not even going to bother whether I'm going to be sued, as chances are I'm only going to be sued if the game is a huge success, which is pretty unlikely. Let's say you beat those odds, then you probably cannot afford a lengthy legal process anyway, so you'll be forced to take your game offline no matter what.

Hi, appreciate more people! Σ ♥ = ¾Learn how to award medals... and work your way up the social rankings!

I just know about this legal issue on publishing game o___Omy last time experience (IP-based) citizen restriction is on NDS game, some JP site and youtube.so, is this something to protect under-age, copyright or what??

Thanks for your feedback so far. We're taking steps to improve the player experience based on your input.

Help us out by playing Nov 15, 2011

Island Forge has many new players, and we'd like to see how many we can get into the world at once. Help us out tomorrow (Nov 15, 2011) by logging in and playing whenever you can. Ask friends to join, as well, and log in together when possible.

Also create some new islands! We need to see how well the world operates with many more places to explore.

If you haven't yet signed up, you can still play FREE during beta. Thank you for helping us out.

Chrome tells me your site insecure, and can be altared before it reaches me. This doesn't seem too appealing to users

Tried your game.. Sue me!

I like the effort, but the looks of this game is not directly appealing. Consider a change of graphics, and UI.It is also hard to play, just jumping into it. I had no idea what I was doing, or what I was trying to do.

Chrome tells me your site insecure, and can be altared before it reaches me. This doesn't seem too appealing to users

Tried your game.. Sue me!

I like the effort, but the looks of this game is not directly appealing. Consider a change of graphics, and UI.It is also hard to play, just jumping into it. I had no idea what I was doing, or what I was trying to do.

Thanks so much for checking it out! I think I noticed you in the world, but you darted away before I could even say Hi. The game is a classic fantasy RPG. Walk around, explore islands, follow stories, fight monsters, etc. Underlying all this, you can create your own islands and stories for others to explore!

I will try to make the goals of the game more apparent to new players.

I'm kind-of a security fanatic, so thank you for relaying Chrome's warning. Unfortunately, it is misleading. Every site on the Web that uses only HTTP (not HTTPS) can be altered in transit. Islandforge.com is an HTTPS secure site, but some (non-security sensitive) components are not HTTPS, which Chrome is complaining about. If I just used plain old unsecure HTTP, Chrome wouldn't complain (and you'd be less secure)... that's about the state of security on the Web.

That said, I will take steps to make the site not complain about such things.

Thank you for describing your experiences. That's what beta is all about.

I've released a major gameplay update ( Island Forge Beta 2 ) incorporating many improvements, largely based on community input - thanks for all who have provided feedback - it is much appreciated.

Early game buildup is now quicker (streamlined crafting and leveling), interfaces are more intuitive, weaponry, creatures, and combat have been rebalanced. The island builder tool has several improvements, as well.

I'm still flying solo here, so community support is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for checking it out. There is a JAR file for download, as well as Windows exe and Java Web Start. There is no browser/applet version at this time. I'm also building a MacOS app bundle, but haven't yet tested it. Soon I'll also be making the game client fully self-updating (so I can dispose of Java Web Start).

Can be as simple as "How to move, how to equipt, how to get a quest and venture to it" kind of splash-screens.Maybe with some "old wise guy" introducing the player to the game.---The GUI is quite small (Very small Buttons), and very unusually structured. I would clean that up.Also the chat should not be in such a small space. Try to make it like 8 lines high.Make a big "start game" or "enter world" button. Tha small sword was a bit hard to find.

Well.., Dont try to invent a "new and better" Gui than the standard MMOs, they had much more time to figure out and develop a working formula.

I would say: better just copy their GUI structure... and rather concentrate on making a unique gameplay / content.---

When you enter the world for the first time, you get some splash slides on the basic components of town, to get you started. I'll improve these with your suggestions (more about how to walk around, talk to folks, and such).

I agree that a larger chat area is in order. Regarding the GUI controls, I felt they were simple enough (slots for items), but clearly they're not as intuitive as I thought -- that's exactly why I need more player feedback -- thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts!

Try to keep all actions/items/options slot (the selectible components) in a consistant style.WOW did that by making everything same-sized squares, on wich the player can shift round items/actions.

most of the time only actions/chat/quickoptions/ and map are needed,the inventory can be turned on and off.

I would (during development) use a placeholder artwork for the GUI on purpose.Just use grey slots with very simplyfies black/white icons. So you can quickly adapt your GUI when you feeld like changing it.People should see that it is NOT the final style yet. So they can keep imagining how it would look like and give suggestions.

Make the GUI components big enough though, without making every element in a totally different design.And blend out all elements wich are not used repetatively. (just put them on a panel, that can be turned on and off, so you dontcramp too much on the screen at once.)-> the icons arranged in a circle for example are very hard to guess what they are actually, and use quite a lot of space forbeeing so small.If you want a "selector" just make 3 Buttons, wich clap out the selection then.

The circles with the marker, I think they are for switching though stuff, did not really get that part of the gui.

I like the update/Loader though wich makes it more pleasant to install than comparable indy MMOs

I see - yes, the toggle's main purpose is to switch between ranged (bow) vs. attack weapon. You can also carry a secondary weapon. I like to show everything you have equipped, rather than hide them in some kind of pull-out, but I understand now what you are suggesting.

I'm glad you like the boot loader. My philosophy is that, whenever possible (maybe always), software should just be a single, small, self-contained executable file. Any other resources can be downloaded and stored locally (or kept server-side). Maybe I should get into the portable apps business...

The software download is under 2MB. The content download (graphics and other resources) is almost 40MB. At this time, any change to the content payload requires the full download. Later, I may split that up into smaller pieces, but this is simplest for now.

I like the update/Loader though wich makes it more pleasant to install than comparable indy MMOs

... when it works. I found a flaw in my build process that effectively required users to always download the latest version, even when the boot loader should have handled the update. Whoops. It should be fixed with beta v0.9.7.8. In addition, I've enhanced a number of the interfaces and information. My thanks to those who have been providing feedback!

I've updated the Island Forge site, with the goal of more clearly describing the game. Any comments on the site would be welcome. In particular, do you feel you get the point of the game right away, and does it make you want to play?

Also, there's a new Atlas feature on the site, showing some of the player-created islands (with ratings and visitation count). Thanks for having a look!

To establish an Account, you must be a resident of the United States and at least 18 years old.

Not that it's going to stop me from playing of course , but you may lose some other players because of this.

I do understand your position on that point, but the lawyer who drafted the ToS was very adamant that this was important for us. I can try to elaborate (but I am not a lawyer). Since we're a small operation (me) and just starting out, we do not have the resources to ensure that we are not in violation of any law in any country of the world. In the United States, there are specific laws about age (13-17 is allowed if the account holder is an adult).

Thank you for your input. I'm willing to be open about these legal matters, especially because it's an important (and very cryptic) part of the game industry. Even potential indie developers (such as myself) should learn as much as they can.

This restrictive clause in the ToS is still the case? Your lawyer's job is to provide advice, not run your business. Ultimately the executive decision of where you establish your market is yours alone to make.

Just a quick note: Today's update (v0.9.8.4) includes several usability enhancements (better friend and chat controls, click other players to show their detail panel, re-clicking a shop brings it back up), bug fixes, and one gameplay/rule change (related to the infamous negative HP). More details in the player forum.

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